There were reports that Microsoft could be launching a cheaper Surface tablet in the near future and the teaser that the company published yesterday suggested as much. The company has now announced the launch of its Surface Go tablet and as expected, it’s priced at $399. The idea with this product is to better compete against the iPad and Chromebooks which are popular in this price range.
The Surface Go is 8.3mm thin and weighs 1.15 pounds. The 10 inch 1800×1200 resolution PixelSense Display has support for the Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Much like the more expensive Surface tablets, the cheaper option also has an integrated kickstand while the design of the device itself is similar to the Surface Pro.
It’s powered by an Intel Pentium Gold 4415 processor with up to 8GB of RAM. Microsoft has made an optional keyboard cover for the device so that those looking to stay productive on the go can have access to a physical keyboard. It says that the Surface Go Signature Type Cover will provide a “laptop-class” typing experience with its scissor key mechanism and 1mm of key travel.
The base model costs $399 and will be available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB eMMC storage. There’s also a $549 model of the Surface Go that has 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The Type Cover costs $99 while the new Mobile Mouse is $39.99. The Surface Pen can also be purchased separately for $99.
The Wi-Fi only Surface Go is available for pre-order starting today and it will be available in stores from August 2nd. Microsoft has confirmed that an LTE model will be released later this year.